PM Modi defends India’s growth trajectory after Donald Trump’s ‘dead economy’ remark: 'India will be third biggest’

Amid global economic turmoil brought on by Donald Trump's tariff rise announcements, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated Friday the Indian economy's resilience and stated that the nation is on course to become the third-largest economy in the world.  The prime minister also argued persuasively for "swadeshi" goods, seeing them as the future.

PM Modi's remarks came just days after US President Donald Trump called India a 'dead economy' about the nation's relations with Russia. 

Speaking at a rally in Varanasi, Modi pointed to global economic turbulence and growing protectionism. “There is an atmosphere of global instability. All countries are focusing on their interests. India is going to become the third biggest economy in the world, and that is why India will have to stay alert as far as its economic interests are concerned,” he said.

To support the Indian economy, the prime minister urged political unity. “Our government is doing everything it can in the best interest of the country... Those who want the best for the country and want to see India as the third biggest economy in the world, be it any political party, should leave their differences aside and instill a resolution for 'swadeshi' products,” Modi said.

Reiterating his ‘vocal for local’ campaign, he added, “We will buy only those things that are made by Indians. We need to become vocal for local."

Modi's statement came after Trump's July 31 social media tweet in which the US president attacked New Delhi's ties with Moscow after declaring a 25% tax on almost all Indian imports.  "What India does with Russia doesn't concern me.  "I don't care if they destroy their economies together," Trump wrote.